fhswfandomcom-20200214-history
Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger
The Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger German was a heavy tank developed in 1942 and used in World War II. It was an answer to the unexpectedly formidable Soviet armour encountered in the initial months of Operation Barbarossa, particularly the T-34 and the KV-1. The Tiger I design gave the Wehrmacht its first tank mounting the 88 mm gun, which had previously demonstrated its effectiveness against both air and ground targets. During the course of the war, the Tiger I saw combat on all German battlefronts. It was usually deployed in independent tank battalions, which proved to be quite formidable. Because of the powerful cannon and good overall protection it's considered to be one of the strongest tanks in World War II. While the Tiger I was feared by many of its opponents, it was over-engineered, used expensive and labour intensive materials and production methods, and was time-consuming to produce. Only 1,347 were built between August 1942 and August 1944, in 1944 production was phased out in favour of the Tiger II. The Tiger (wich was the first German tank using a animal nickname) is a really powerful tank and superior to all medium tanks in direct combat. With the high velocity gun it's very easy to hit targets even at a great distance. The armor is also pretty good even the sides can withstand many cannons, a weakpoint are the vulnerable tracks though. Another disadvantage is the low turning speed of the turret which fast enemy tanks can sometimes utilise to escape from the deadly 8.8 cm gun. The production started in July 1942 and the month after, the first Tiger tank was deliverd. There was just one official production version and that was the Ausf E. However, several modifications in the design had been made as suggested by crews. Those modifications are know as the earlt, mid and late production. The first production was the early and show us the high commander cupola without telescope (used bullet proof glass as its vision ports), the 90mm NbK 39 smoke dischargers, are be mounted on the turret, rubber road wheels (not the rimmed road wheels), dual headlights, pistol ports in the turret and Feifel air cleaners. The Mid saw some modifications. It had a shorter commander cupola with seven periscopes, Also the cupola hatch swivels to the side and the cupola had a ring mount for the MG34 machinegun for AA-defence. The dual headlights are be replaced by a single headlight. The Roadwheels are be replaced by rimmed road wheels with also rubber, but the first outer wheels were often removed due to the muddy and snowy terrain on the Eastern front. From Ausgust 1943, the anti-magnetic paste called Zimmerit was applied. The Feifel air cleaners on the back, are be removed. The pistol ports are not be removed. Seat 4 controls the two pistol ports on the back of the turret, you switch between them via "A" and "D". That helps in defending the Tiger against infantry that trys to sneak up from behind. About 470 units of mid production series were produced between July 1943 and January 1944. Some of the early Tiger I were returned to the factory for repair. Some units used early Tiger I's that had be repaired at the factory and received new all steel road wheels, new tracks and had the feifel filters removed. Type 4 The Tiger was also used by the Japanese forces as the Type 4. In 1943, Japan bought several specimens of German tank designs for study. A single Tiger I was apparently purchased along with one Panther and two Panzer III's, but only the Panzer IIIs were actually delivered. The undelivered Tiger was loaned to the German Wehrmacht by the Japanese government. Possibly the tank was not used, but this is obviously FHSW! Ausf. E "late" The model of the "late" variant is identical with the "mid" Tiger, only the pistol port seat was replaced with the more efficent Nahverteidigungswaffe. The gun travel lock was discontinued and the gun sight was changed from a binocular TZF9b to a monocular TZF9c. Late production Tigers are most easily identified as the rubber rimmed road wheels were replaced with steel road wheels and even placed in an other order. Unfortunately, the "Late" model in FHSW is not distinguishable from the "mid" version. The late model is just the same model like the mid, just the Nahverteidigungswaffe was add-on. The changes are in request on Twitter. Ausf. E "late" with 88mm KwK 43 L/71 When the Tiger reach the fronts, it was a very powerfull tank. However, soon a more powerfull tank was need it. The Nashorn and Ferdinand tank destroyers using a more powerfull and longer gun then the 88mm KwK 36 wich be used on the Tiger. This was the 88mm KwK 43 L/71 gun. Soon, the gun from the Tiger will be replace by this gun. However, the design fase becomes in delay and the modern Königstigerdesign, the improved Tiger design have be cancelled. Derived vehicles in FHSW * Bergetiger: The Bergetiger was an armored tracked vehicle based on the Tiger I chassis. The main gun had been removed, and a boom & winch assembly had been fitted to the turret. In FHSW you can repair nearby vehicles very fast. External links * Wikipedia entry Category:Heavy tanks Category:Soviet Equipment Category:German Equipment Type 4 Tiger Category:Italian Equipment